Imagine Peace Tower to be relit in Reykjavik on Lennon's birthday

Imagine Peace Tower will be relit by Yoko Ono on October 9th 2011 in memory of John Lennon. He would have been 71 today (Sunday). The tower will be lit at 8pm Reykjavik time and the event will stream live on the internet.

The site at Viðey, Reykjavík, Iceland was chosen because Iceland is regarded by Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono as an eco-friendly and peaceful nation. She will light the beam at 8pm local time (9pm London, 4pm New York, 4pm Toronto, 1pm Los Angeles, 5am Tokyo). A live EarthCam feed can be viewed here.

The Imagine Peace Tower is a tall "tower of light", and considered a work of art, projected from a white stone monument that has the words "Imagine Peace" carved into it in 24 languages. Ono will remain in the country to perform with her band, the Plastic Ono Band, at the Iceland Airwaves Festival, which will also see Iceland's premier pop superstar Bjork performing.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

special permission by nicole myers

Ono has also requested anyone can send wishes and messages of peace on Twitter (@IPTower) and Facebook. There is also a live world map showing white glowing dots, each one representing a real live person, online at that moment watching the Imagine Peace Tower web page.

The light beam often reaches cloud base and can often be seen penetrating through the clouds. Buried underneath the light tower are over half a million written messages or wish trees.